Ontario’s Country Music Pioneers:
Earl Heywood

The late Earl Heywood (1917-2006) was dubbed “Canada’s No. 1 Singing Cowboy”. He is remembered as a true “pioneer” in Canadian Country music – a songwriter and recording artist and a radio and television personality with the CKNX Barn Dance in Wingham, Ontario.

Earl Carlyle Heywood was born on March 12, 1917, on a farm near Exeter, Ontario. He joined CKNX in 1942 and remained with that station (and its later TV and radio affiliates) as a singer and an announcer for more than 40 years; performing for almost 20 years on the weekly CKNX Barn Dance, and serving from 1946-1953 as host of the “Serenade Ranch” program. During the 1950s, he appeared on
such CKNX programs as “The Range Riders Show”, “Rocking Horse Ranch”, and “Western Roundup”.

As an RCA recording artist dating back to the late 1940s, he attracted widespread airplay with his records “There’s A New True Love In My Heart”, Alberta Waltz”, “Isle Of Campobello”, “Tears Of St. Ann”, “Picking Flowers”, “Algonquin Waltz”, and “Moonlight On The Manitoulin Island”. In addition to his RCA recordings, Earl Heywood released albums and singles on the Banff/Rodeo and Dominion Records labels.

Earl Heywood’s close friend, the legendary Hank Snow, once described Earl as being part of “The Big Three” of Canadian Cowboy Singers on RCA during the 1950s, which at the time included Hank Snow, Wilf Carter and Earl Heywood.
Earl Heywood’s Fan Club stretched across Canada, the USA and Australia.

In 1979, he recorded the album “Tales Of The Donnelly Feud” featuring all original compositions about the infamous 19th century “Donnelly Feud”, a topic that has since been covered in song by Stompin’ Tom Connors.

As a songwriter, Earl Heywood composed more than 300 songs. His signature song “Moonlight On The Manitoulin Island” was also a hit record for the U.S. group “The Moms And Dads”.

Among Earl Heywood’s proudest moments in music were the times he appeared nationwide on tour and on television with his wife, the late Martha (Thiel) Heywood, and later with their children Patricia (Pat) and Grant. As a family, they recorded four “Heywood Family” albums and were billed as “Canada’s First Family Of Song”.

Earl Heywood was a founding member of the Academy of Country Music Entertainment (ACME), which later evolved into the Canadian Country Music Association. He was also instrumental in establishing “The Barn Dance Historical Society”, located in Wingham, Ontario.
As a promoter of Canadian Country music and its artists, Earl Heywood authored a monthly column, “Country Corral”, published during the 1960s in the influential Nashville magazine, Country Song Roundup.

Earl Heywood was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 1989 and, in 2021, was inducted into the London (Ontario) Music Hall of Fame.

Earl Heywood passed away on September 17, 2006, of a heart attack, at his home in Brussels, Ontario. He was 89.